‘‘The Snows of Kilimanjaro’’ is a narrative steeped in the theme of impending death, filled not only with imagery of mortality but also with an omnipresent awareness of death itself. The story opens with a reference to death—Harry mentions, “it’s painless,” speaking of his approaching end—and concludes with the stark contrast between the woman’s loudly beating heart and the silence of Harry’s deceased body. Death is symbolically represented by both the pure whiteness of Mount Kilimanjaro’s peak and the menacing, unclean hyena that prowls near Harry’s tent.

Throughout the story, Harry’s perspective on his own death fluctuates. Initially, he adopts a brave, almost indifferent demeanor, telling his wife he is unbothered by his fate and has accepted it. He appears to be provoking her, aware that she cares deeply for him, and he can wound her by pretending indifference to his looming death. However, in the story’s italicized segments, Harry’s facade crumbles, revealing the regret of a man aware of his impending death, lamenting his unfulfilled aspirations. The gangrene consuming his leg transforms in his mind into the poetry he never created: “I’m full of poetry now. Rot and poetry. Rotten poetry.”

Hemingway infuses the story with death through symbolism. The woman departs from the camp to hunt, stepping out of Harry’s view because, as the narrator notes, she wishes not to disturb the wildlife. Yet, it’s clear she avoids killing in front of her dying husband. The hyena, a scavenger of corpses, skulks around the camp, foreshadowing the decaying death Harry dreads. Even the dynamic between Harry and his wife symbolizes his impending demise: he remarks that their arguments had “killed what they had together.”

However, when death finally arrives, it is neither decaying nor prolonged and painful. Instead, it is transcendent. Harry drifts into a dreamlike state, imagining that his friend Compton arrives in a plane to transport him to medical help. As the plane ascends, it flies past the dazzling white summit of Kilimanjaro. As Harry passes this vision, readers recall the story’s epigraph, where Hemingway mentions that “close to the western summit there is the dried and frozen carcass of a leopard. No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude.” Yet, Harry appears to have discovered something: liberation from his worldly troubles.

One of the central themes of the story is Harry's inability to attain the artistic success he longed for, a struggle that closely mirrors Hemingway's own life. In the italicized flashbacks, Harry is depicted in his earlier years, particularly in Paris, where he lived in bohemian poverty and poured his energy into writing. Yet, he often laments leaving that life behind. He essentially gave up and started indulging in drinking, traveling, hunting, and pursuing wealthy women, ultimately becoming "what he despised," as the narrator describes.

Harry's sense of failure gnaws at him, much like the gangrene that ravages his leg. He even draws a direct comparison between the two: "Rot and poetry. Rotten poetry." Instead of using his verbal skills to enrich his experiences, he numbs them with alcohol and argues with his wife. In this way, the hyena circling his tent symbolizes not only approaching death but also his deep regret over squandering his artistic talents. Paradoxically, it is in death that he returns to creativity. As he nears the end, he hallucinates a stunning vision: his friend Compton coming to take him to a hospital. During their flight, Harry glimpses the peak of Kilimanjaro, a sight that amazes him with its purity. It is...